The Northwestern Wildcats have added the East Carolina Pirates to their 2027 football schedule, both schools announced Tuesday.
The Sept. 18 game at the soon-to-be-remodeled Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill., will mark the first ever matchup between the Wildcats and Pirates on the gridiron.
Northwestern now has two opponents on its 2027 slate. A Sept. 11 contest with Colorado is set for one week prior to today’s announced game.
East Carolina’s 2027 non-league slate is complete after the announcement. All three previously-announced dates are set for Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C. Western Carolina (Sept. 4), Wake Forest (Sept. 11), and Georgia State (Sept. 25) compose the remainder of the campaign.
“We are excited to add a school of Northwestern’s caliber to our 2027 schedule,” East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. “East Carolina has always been committed to facing high quality non-conference opponents as we continue to showcase our brand across the country.”
Football Schedules
The Purple team will win. Guaranteed.
Agreeable Go Cats!!!
Go Pirates!
Soon-to-be-remodeled? How ‘bout totally reconstructed? Every last brick!
I applaud this battle for all the purple.
If the ‘Cats can win this, then surely the B1G will deserve an extra playoff berth.
I’m excited to hear you tell us which FCS teams you want to see the Illini and the Noles assert themselves against.
Particularly since it’s a near-annual (Illinois) or annual (FSU) occurrence and you like to spout off about other programs like ND that have faced one FCS opponent ever.
@Illinoles97 – As long as the game is aired on CBS at 3:30pm and “I want see another week added during CFB regular season so they can have 4 OOC games with two P4 & other cupcake games with G6 & FCS”
No return game to ECU? If no; what is payout? This is definitely a home and home situation, IMO
What do you expect? No P4 team has the balls to visit a GO5 school anymore.
It isn’t about “balls.” It’s all about money.
Well: Northwestern has home and home with Rice……..just sayin’
Illininoles97 & FB1 I very greatly appreciate it to please stop acting very rude to me.
If you are going to reply to My post you guys need to be civil & mature & please stop being sarcastic.
I do not care who televise Northwestern-East Carolina long as I cheer on the Northwestern Wildcats.
Adding a 13th regular season game is just a suggestion not a priority.
Hey Jesper, I have never said who I’d like Illinois or FSU play, you got me mixed up with that other guy. I think it bs anyone plays those cupcake schools just so they get any easy win. Don’t get me started about ND and the easy route they have taken to get to the playoffs by joining the weak ACC. Yeah fsu plays in a weak conference I’ve always said it and ND hook themselves to the easiest league, the schedule is a joke, you know it. Look who they played before they went the ACC route and look now.
I was riffing on your rude reference to Dan Rakow / NW-IL-MI and the fact that you’ve taken a shot at ND for playing ONE FCS school all-time (on the back of a shortened week, factoring in Sunday travel back from Dublin).
As either an Illinois or FSU alumnus / fan / whatever, you have no basis for criticizing ND’s schedules. And, incidentally, ND is not in the ACC in football. They have a scheduling arrangement but not conference membership, excepting the quirky 2020 pandemic season.